External Data Center Air Handling for Cooling and Cable Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data center and co-location facility designs face inefficiencies in cooling and wire routing, with air conditioning units not being standardized, accessible, or transportable, leading to suboptimal airflow and maintenance challenges.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a building with a false ceiling and modular thermal shields to create a hot air containment chamber, coupled with external air conditioning units that recirculate air efficiently, and a cable and conduit routing system that separates power and data wiring for improved airflow and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air conditioning units are installed inside the facility, then cooling can be provided to the electronic equipment, but the units are not accessible or transportable for repair or replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The air conditioning system is divided into separate components: evaporator units positioned inside the facility near the electronic equipment, and condenser units positioned outside the facility. This segmentation allows the evaporator units to remain installed for continuous cooling operation while the condenser units can be easily accessed, removed, and replaced externally without disrupting the cooling function.
Solution Approach 2:
The condenser units are extracted from the interior facility space and positioned outside the building. This extraction resolves the contradiction by removing the non-essential cooling component from the protected environment while maintaining the essential cooling function through the remaining evaporator units, enabling easy access and transportability for maintenance.
2Reliability
If conventional air conditioning systems are used, then cooling is provided, but the units are not standardized or easily accessible for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the air conditioning system into evaporator and condenser units, the design enables standardized, pre-fabricated modules that can be easily installed and maintained. The evaporator units are positioned in accessible locations within the facility, while condenser units are placed outside for convenient maintenance access, resolving the contradiction between reliable temperature control and ease of operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If power and data wiring are routed together, then installation is simplified, but airflow efficiency is reduced and maintenance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The wiring system is segmented into separate power wiring and data wiring pathways, with power wiring routed through raised floor spaces and data wiring routed through overhead spaces or separate conduits. This segmentation improves airflow efficiency by preventing wiring from obstructing air channels while maintaining installation simplicity through standardized routing paths for each wire type.
Solution Approach 2:
The wiring routing utilizes three-dimensional space by routing power wiring horizontally through the raised floor and data wiring vertically or overhead, separating the two wire types in different spatial dimensions. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining installation simplicity through organized routing while improving airflow efficiency by preventing wiring congestion in critical air channels.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances cooling efficiency by rapidly recirculating air, reducing temperatures, and simplifies maintenance by standardizing and making air conditioning units easily accessible, while also improving wire routing for efficient data and power distribution.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of air conditioning units disposed in the external area outside the building that each receive heated air, cool the heated air, and deliver the cooled air to the internal area
Implementation Method 2
a thermal shield supported by the at least some of the plurality of support brackets, the thermal shield providing a contiguous wall around the central hot air area and defining a hot air containment chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is an integrated data center that provides for efficient cooling, as well as efficient wire routing.